Dear Google... I've had a crush on you since our very first encounter in 1998. You mesmerized me with your quick and efficient search results. It almost seemed like you were telepathic. I would never have to go beyond the first page of search results and usually, almost always, you'd return exactly what I was looking for.

Man those were good times.

You ushered in the era of deep linking and I no longer had to navigate to a site and then use their HTML sitemap to find the actual data, or article I was searching for.

Remember those days? The days of HTML sitemaps? You know what I hated about sitemaps? First of all, having to use them (that sucked). Secondly, I'd never know where the map was located. Every site was always a little different.

You've spoiled me Google. You've delivered such quick and intuitive results for so long that you've created a population of impatient searchers that need instant perfect gratification for all their curiosities. Myself included. Damn you.

Lately, however, it seems you are becoming a victim of your own success. The problem? Online Video. There is more and more of it and it seems like the videos are longer and longer. Its not uncommon for full 60 minute TV shows to be viewed online or even talks, or instructions that are 90 minutes or longer. Why is this a problem? Its a problem because you, Google, are treating it like the pre-Google Internet of 1997. I don't like that Internet. You trained me not to like it.

Dear Google, why don't you help me navigate to the parts of a video I'm searching for? Google, why don't you allow video publishers to provide you with time coded metadata? Why do your video sitemaps treat a whole 90 minute video like a single web page? I love you Google, but man... you could do better. Please just set a standard and tell everyone how you would like receive scene-based or time-based metadata. Please!

When we met, you promised to index everything in the world for me. After our tenth anniversary, you've changed! Our relationship has come down to the basic's Bing, Bing Bing. I need more! Your videos need more. I'm tired of title, and description searches. Your off building cars that drive themselves and mapping human genomes, perhaps you should be focused on what you set out to do... index everything in the world for me. Give me more. Give me more metadata, take my deep links, and let's have a future with little time-coded video links.

The videos that we had together deserve your attention. They're not the little 1 and 2 minute videos anymore, they've grown up. We need to work together to secure a bright future for them. A future where they can meet other videos, play from any frame, enroll in user profiles, and meet social networks.Yes Google, our videos will meet social networks, and I don't want it to happen behind your back. You are their role model, you need to be a great one.

If you don't provide a way to search to a scene of a video, you are going put the entire Internet population on TILT due to over exposure to the Frustration Range.

Video is not just a big blob that you can point at and direct searchers to the beginning of. Video is rich with interesting scenes, sentiment, stuff that I want to go back and LeanIn to, or discover for the first time with your beautiful search engine.

What do you think? ▼

http://www.xfinityonline.com/ feliciacorrine

Google is best of all the search engines I have ever used. But I like the author’s point of view. You are thinking ahead, actually with the present day trends. Video marketing is now most sought after form of advertising. People are keener on searching for videos than the content. Who has got the time or patience? We want instant results. So something like metadata will simplify the search. Google, there is one brilliant idea from Luke Davies.

http://kwest.com/RobertRowshan Robert_Rowshan

great points Luke, at this point I'm just glad google is keeping google video alive instead of buying it for youtube

http://www.formspring.me/RobertRowshan

feliciacorrine

Google is best of all the search engines I have ever used. But I like the author’s point of view. You are thinking ahead, actually with the present day trends. Video marketing is now most sought after form of advertising. People are keener on searching for videos than the content. Who has got the time or patience? We want instant results. So something like metadata will simplify the search. Google, there is one brilliant idea from Luke Davies.

http://kwest.com/RobertRowshan Robert_Rowshan

great points Luke, at this point I'm just glad google is keeping google video alive instead of buying it for youtube

http://www.formspring.me/RobertRowshan

http://twitter.com/RAMPINC Tom Wilde

Amen! So much still to do in video search!

Aurelius_Tjin

Very Right! Thanks for sharing this post. :)

http://www.VideoLeadsOnline.com/ Ronnie Bincer

I think the concept of being able to search for and get results that lead me not only to a relevant video is cool, but when the SERP takes me to the proper place of the video, that would be really cool... kinda like when you use CC and search within YouTube you may end up watching from the CC text on in the delivered video results.

JeremyScott

Great post. Agree completely.

http://www.labgrab.com labgrab

I watch probably 70% science videos and 30% battle rap and my youtube front page is littered with the same promoted pop teen stuff everyone elses is. Even the "because you watched" recommendations are off. Video needs curating big time in addition to better search.